1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an inflatable tire and hub assembly for toys, and in particular to a hub assembly utilizing a balloon tire
2. Brief Statement of the Prior Art
Toy vehicles have been provided with wheels of various shapes to simulate balloon tires. Hollow form wheels of rigid materials are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,263,363; 3,264,780; 3,649,048; and 4,411,639. Solid form wheels which are formed of a soft compressible material, such as an elastomer, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,561,863; and 3,445,958. Similar wheels are disclosed as being covered with an outer coating or fabric in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,438,770 and 4,146,992. In all of these prior wheels, the tire was either formed of a rigid supporting material, or was formed of a soled core, compressible material, to simulate an inflated balloon tire.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,780 disclosed a hollow form rubber tire without any inflation pressure. U.S. Pat. No. 1,997,115 discloses an early attempt to provide an inflated balloon tire. According to the latter patent, a female hub member was placed about the neck of a balloon, the balloon was inflated, and a male hub element was then inserted and cemented in place. A third hub element was then cemented about the outside face of the female hub member. The patented invention has a complex structure which is unsuited for mass production, and has the following failings: the permanent attachment of the balloon to the hub, the inability to change tires, and the failure to provide an inflation valve.